2024-10-04 22:40:03
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Mississippi could have ties to a California lawsuit accusing Country music superstar Garth Brooks of rape.
According to CNN, a lawsuit filed in California Thursday accuses Brooks of raping a woman in 2019 who worked as the singer’s hairstylist and makeup artist.
Attorneys for the accuser, only identified as Jane Roe, reference a “preemptive complaint” filed in Mississippi “to silence our client.”
A quick search of Pacer, the federal court database system, does not uncover a case filed by Brooks in Mississippi.
However, a case filed by someone who identifies as a “well-known celebrity and public figure who resides in Tennessee,” denies the sexual abuse claims, and alleges that Roe was attempting to make the claims public as a form of extortion.
“Defendant is well aware, however, of the substantial, irreparable damage, such false allegations would do to plaintiff’s well-earned reputation as a decent and caring person, along with the unavoidable damage to his family and the irreparable damage to his career and livelihood that would result if she made good on her threat,” the suit states.
The plaintiff, now believed to be Brooks, is asking the court to declare the allegations against him are untrue and block Roe from publicizing her allegations. He also is asking for compensatory damages for pain and suffering and punitive damages to prevent her from “similar future behavior.”
In a 30-page response, attorneys for Roe say the plaintiff is attempting to game the judicial system to bully the defendant and prevent the truth from coming out.
“By being the first to file in Mississippi federal court and asking the court to permit him to proceed under a pseudonym, Mr. Doe hopes that he will dupe this court into granting his alleged claims priority and prevent Ms. Roe from disclosing all of her relevant facts, including his identity, in her California complaint,” the response states.
Attorneys for Roe also questioned whether the plaintiff should be allowed to continue under a pseudonym, saying that they are typically reserved for victims of sexual assault or rape.
“Mr. Doe believes that he is entitled to the same protection victims receive – not to prevent unnecessary re-traumatization, but rather, to maintain his celebrity ‘reputation,’” Roe states. “Not surprisingly… the few courts presented with such an outrageous pseudonym request by the party being accused of the sexual violence have flatly denied it.”
The complaint was submitted under the pseudonym “John Doe.” Doe is represented by David Kaufman and Patrick McDowell, of the Brunini Law Firm.
A response filed by Roe was submitted by Louis Watson Jr., a local attorney, and by Douglas Wigdor and Hayley Hanna Baker, two of the three attorneys who referenced a Mississippi lawsuit to CNN.
According to Doe’s suit, the defendant worked for the plaintiff for 15 years before moving to Mississippi. After moving to the Magnolia State, the defendant “began demanding financial assistance from [the] plaintiff.”
“Plaintiff acquiesced for some time, but when [Roe] demanded salaried employment and medical benefits plaintiff could no longer agree,” the suit states. “When plaintiff refused to provide additional financial assistance… she responded with false and outrageous allegations of sexual misconduct… she claims occurred years ago.”
The suit references a July 17, 2024, letter sent to the plaintiff by Roe’s attorneys. It also alleges a “litany of sexual misconduct… over the years ranging from allegations of sexual ‘grooming,’ creation of a sexually hostile work environment, unwanted sexual touching, and sexual assault.’”
In the letter, the Doe claims the defendant “threatened to ‘publicly file’ a draft civil complaint… repeating the same fabricated allegations from the demand letter unless plaintiff agreed to pay [the] defendant millions of dollars.”
A follow-up letter was sent to Doe on August 23, according to the suit, again seeking a multimillion-dollar payment.
The California filing, which was filed in state court, makes similar allegations against Brooks, who is named in that matter. According to Roe, Brooks raped her, even holding the less than five-foot-tall, 100-pound woman upside down during the act.
The unnamed accuser also alleges Brooks “openly talked about sexual subjects in front of Ms. Roe… regularly changed his clothing in front of Ms. Roe, and often purposefully exposed his genitals and buttons to Ms. Roe, knowing that she would respond with a look of horror and disgust.”
According to Roe’s attorneys, she was unable to continue working for Brooks and moved to Mississippi in 2021.
“When Ms. Roe’s counsel contacted Brooks and disclosed that Ms. Roe was prepared to file a complaint in California to hold him accountable for his sexual assaults, and even shared a copy of the drafted… complaint with Brooks, he used the fact that Ms. Roe had dared to speak about the harm he forced on her as an opportunity to inflict even more harm and pain,” attorneys for Roe claim.
Additionally, the filing tells the court that the Mississippi suit was filed by Brooks under the pseudonym “John Doe,” and that he filed under that name because of his “well-earned reputation as a decent and caring person” – the same language used word-for-word in the Mississippi filing.
“Brooks is desperate to prevent his millions of fans from learning about the horrific things he has said and done to a junior female employee who did nothing to deserve such treatment,” Roe’s attorney state. “This is precisely what Brooks is trying to do in this abusive Mississippi action.”
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